How to make your financial practice relatable to prospects.

At the crossroads of talent, passion, skill and values, some of those will overlap and compliment others. A common thread which all become the keywords that will make up your “why”.

When you have your “why” you are truly doing work that you love but why is your “why” statement so important? The answer to that is another question, do your clients buy into your why? In other words, why would they take the time to listen to your proposition, why would they take the time to learn more and why would they want to work with you?

The answers to those “whys” are tied to tips, stories, illustrations, analogies, and axiom’s that tell them you are relatable, knowledgeable, and understandable. These are things that are easy to have a shared belief in and these are things that build trust. The tips, stories, illustrations, analogies and axioms are the tools you keep in your toolbox, and you will need to know them well so you can draw on them in a natural way as you talk to people.

There’s an old saying: “confused people don’t buy” and the same goes for respond as in, confused people don’t respond. If you confuse or overload your clients, they might listen to you, but your job is to get results and results don’t happen in a state of confusion.

The main element in your relationship with people is communication and, in the world of communication, if the way a message is delivered is important, then it’s twice as important the way it’s received.

So, keeping things simple and easy to understand is everything and stories are the best way to convey complex ideas. The good news is that we all have a story-and I’ll bet it’s a good one! The bad news - crafting your own story can be a challenge without framework.

Hemingway was credited with the quote: “Write drunk, edit sober”. Whether alcohol was a part of his writing or not it drives home a point to me which is: Let your words flow. Don’t edit while you write. There will be time for that later. If you edit while you write you will never finish your work.

Let’s cover step by step how to craft your own story.

The first part you should have a jump start on which is your “why”. If you haven’t composed your why statement, I will be sharing some tips on a later article on how to create your why statement.

?? Answer the “why”. Why did you choose to pursue a career as a Financial Coach or Financial Professional? What difference do you want to make and why is that important to you?

?? Share a vulnerability. What deeply personal event sparked the emotions and determination to help others? What did your life look like? What were some of the embarrassing aspects that you REALLY don’t want people to know?

?? Get straight to the attention getter. Don’t beat around the bush, open with a line that captures the attention and the imagination of the audience.

??Open strong with a captivating headline. Something that evokes strong emotions. A great tool to help craft this is: https://www.aminstitute.com/headline/ and https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer . Think of a movie trailer. What are the most moving parts emotionally? What humor can you look back on and find in the story?

??Define the turning point. Recall the moments during your challenge that time stood still. What thoughts ran through your mind, terrors that kept you awake and, epiphanies that became crystalized in your mind that led to the turning point?

??Share the victory. What was the impact this had on you? What lessons were learned? Why would you not trade the experience for a million dollars?

??Strip the fluff from your story. Now that you have the raw material it’s time to compress. You don’t want your story to drone on because you will lose your audience. Ask yourself: What parts are critical? What has little meaning to the outcome? Have different lengths of the same story and use the proper length at the proper time.

??Speakeasy. Use words that are at the lowest grade level possible. Hemingway app is great for this.

??Use props and aids if possible. If you have a picture or some other item that helps bring the story to life, be prepared to use it. This can make a big difference in the impact you make on your audience.

Are you ready to start crafting your own story?

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